Construction of the compost pit is underway at Satsalo landfill

Neten Dorji | Trashigang

With the landfill constructed in 2006 reaching its full capacity, Trashigang municipal authority is constructing a compost pit.

This, officials say, is to address the growing issue of waste in Trashigang town.

The biodegradable pit is under construction in Satsalo.

Trashigang town produces about eight metric tonnes (MT) of wet and dry waste every week. 

The municipal’s urban planner, Kinley Dema, said they opted to construct a compost pit, as they faced difficulty while identifying state land to construct another landfill. “We will make manure out of degradable waste and use for beautification.”

She said that there would be enough space in landfill if wet wastes are used to make manure and dry wastes are recycled.

According to the engineer, all wastes are dumped together in the landfill as of now, as there is no separate facility for proper segregation of waste.

Municipal officials also said wastes increased as the population of Trashigang town increased. They also plan to advocate people on segregation of waste at source. 

The dzongkhag’s development regulatory officer, Sonam Chojur, said once the compost construction completes, 50 percent of biodegradable waste originating from Trashigang town could be converted into compost manure. 

He said that of the remaining 50 percent, some percent of the non-biodegradable waste could be recycled. “If this happens, only a few remaining waste would go to the dumping site, making it easier to handle waste generation.”

The dzongkhag has two waste collection trucks that not only cater the Trashigang town but also cater Kanglung and Rangjung towns.

The municipality is also planning to make a schedule to collect wet and dry waste on different days so that waste could be segregated at source. 

Meanwhile, about Nu 200,000 is spent on waste compaction in the three landfills in Trashigang, Satsalo in Trashigang, Buna in Rangjung and Rongthung in Kanglung, every year.

Officials said that if the compost construction in Satsalo landfill goes well, the municipality would construct a compost pit in Buna and Rongthung landfill.     

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